Question: Every day lately there has been something on
the news or in the paper about the priests molesting kids. Newsweek has
an article about it this week. I went to visit my mom tonight and she
just shakes her head and wonders if any of her boys were molested as we
were very close to all the priests who lived here throughout the years.
And still she wants to remain Catholic like a devout wife married to a
bummer.

Answer: Your mother is right not to judge a system on the basis
of the abuse by some of its members and leaders. What would you
do if some prominent Evangelical or Protestant leaders are exposed as
hypocrites and perverts? Would you give up Christianity because of them?

As for the Catholic priests, I really pity them. They have been forced by the
Vatican to remain celibate, an unnatural state for many of
them.

The Lord Jesus and the apostle Paul speak about some who have been
given the gift of celibacy, and these, by the grace of God can lead a
fruitful and pure life (Matthew 19:12; 1 Corinthians 7:7,8). However,
other ministers have
been given the gift of marriage. The apostle Paul was single; the
apostle Peter and the other apostles were married. "Do we have no
right to take along a believing wife, as do also the other apostles, the
brothers of the Lord, and Cephas?" (1 Corinthians 9:5). The
Word of God gives liberty to all Christians, including Christian
ministers, to choose their marital
state.

In the apostolic church, bishops (also known as elders, presbyters
and pastors) were generally married. "A bishop then must be
blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good
behavior, hospitable, able to teach; not given to wine, not violent, not
greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous; one who
rules his own house well, having his children in submission with all
reverence; for if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how
will he take care of the church of God?" (1 Timothy 3:2-5). At the
very least, we can safely conclude that the New Testament allows church leaders to
marry.

The Roman Catholic magisterium has the audacity to ignore the Word of
God and establish canon laws contrary to the Bible. Yet people continue
to trust them as faithful servants of God. The Bible has very strong
words against the Catholic magisterium and anyone else who forbids
marriage: "Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some
will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and
doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own
conscience seared with a hot iron, forbidding to marry, and commanding
to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving
by those who believe and know the truth" (1 Timothy 4:1-5).

Priests are men with normal sexual desires, but since they are
forbidden to marry, some of them end up expressing their sexuality in
perverted ways such as pornography, fornication and homosexuality. (I am not convinced
that there is a strong association between paedophilia and celibacy).
Obligatory celibacy may not be the direct cause of sexual sin, but it is
most likely an important factor contributing to the moral and spiritual fall of
many priests.

May God rescue many of them from this evil system, and grant them
salvation through simple faith in Jesus Christ, the One and only Priest who offered
Himself for the sins of His people and who is ever living to intercede
for us. May God also grant them the liberty to enjoy life and His good
gifts, including the love of a woman in marriage.

Copyright Dr Joe Mizzi.
Permission to copy and distribute this article without textual changes. <
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